


Townsville's Worst Tutor

by kk_gorillaz



Category: Gorillaz, Powerpuff Girls
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:14:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26944987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kk_gorillaz/pseuds/kk_gorillaz
Summary: Ace Copular has always considered himself the most rebellious teen in Townsville, and while that may be true he realizes there are different things to teenagehood than petty crimes. How does he come to this realization? Easy. He meets Arturo’s secret math tutor. (Takes place in and after Schoolhouse Rock)
Relationships: Ace Copular/Original Character(s)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 17





	1. Poor Kid...

Valeria knew every student in kindergarten like the palm of her hand. She was always given the task to pick up her little brother, so it was inevitable to not become acquainted with the other little boys and girls. Yet, she couldn’t seem to recognize this one, green, with an underbite and acne. She couldn’t help but bring a hand to her chest. The poor boy must’ve had a developmental disability, and judging by the way the other kids avoided him like the plague, she concluded that he must be getting bullied.

The small boy was seemingly lost in thought when Valeria softly patted his shoulder. “Are you alright?” she asked softly as she crouched to his height. The boy looked her up and down, a smile creeping up, “I certainly am now!” 

The brown-skinned girl furrowed her brows, _‘I can’t believe he wanted company so badly…’_ she thought.

“You’re all alone here kid. Not getting along with the others?”

“Uhh… no. Not really.”

A whispered, ‘Aww…’ escaped her lips, “That’s a shame, what’s your name and how old are you?” she continued petting his shoulder.

“The name’s Arturo de la Guerra but everyone calls me Lil’ Arturo. I’m twelve. How ‘bout you mamasi- _uhh,_ miss.” Arturo’s big, sad eyes bore a hole in Valeria’s heart.

_‘This must be a very severe disability…’_ her internal dialogue continued.

“Arturo’s a spanish name. ¿Sabes español?” she smiled at him while grabbing a random kid’s notebook and pencil, ripping out a piece and scribbling on it.

“iPues claro! iJejeje! ¿Como no señorita?”

“Excelente! Here, toma.” Valeria gave him the piece of paper, “I can help you get up to speed with your studies, if you ever need tutoring don’t hesitate to call, alright?” she ruffled his hair before getting up and walking away. He couldn’t help but keep staring, completely awestruck at not only her behind but at the fact that he just scored a hotties number.

**_Bam_** _ **.**_ A slap to the back of the head snapped the short boy out of his trance. “Lil’ Arturo close ya mouf, yous boutta catch a fly.” “U-Uh! Sorry boss!” “What’s got yous lookin’ like a deer in headlights anyway?” “N-Nothing boss! Don’t worry about it, Ace!” “. _……..oookayyy_?”, the leader couldn’t be bothered to put more thought into the matter and brushed it off quickly.

Mrs. Keen wasted no time in calling class back in session after the short bathroom break she gave everyone.

…

“Well that was a bust.” Ace iced his black eye as he leaned against a light post. “What are we gonna do now? Mr. Wednesday isss ssstill going to make ussss go to sssschool.” Ace couldn’t help but be annoyed at Snake’s stupidity, “I tell ya’ what we’re gonna do! We’s gonna ditch Mr. Whatshisface and not go to no school! Nobody tells the Gangreen Gang what to do!”

Billy’s “Yeaaah Yeaa!”, Snake’s “yesss” and Grubber’s raspberries bounced around but there was a distinct “Si! Si! Yes!” missing. The whole gang looked in silence waiting for Arturo to agree.

“Well, he-he has a point. Education _is_ important… and we… never… got.. It…?” Arturo’s voice got lost as Ace’s glare got stronger. The tension was suddenly high, all the boys waiting to see Ace’s inevitable blow up.

“You’re weird.” Ace brushed off again, to everyone’s relief. Arturo let out a sigh.

“If yous wanna waste your time that’s on you. As long as yous don’t ruin our nightly activities. We are not going to wait up on you.” The green teen warned.

Before Arturo can reply Ace turned around and continued, “That’s enough of that. Let’s hit up some phone booths for some pranks.”

Perfect. 

It seemed luck was on Arturo’s side today and he was going to take advantage of that, so when Ace called out, “Who’s next?” After slamming the phone to the booth Arturo tried extra hard to be noticed.

The boys all bargained for Ace to choose them but Arturo made sure to be the loudest “ _Me! **Me!** Pick me!_ Pass me the teléfono!”

“Alright, Lil’s Arturo _sheeshh_. A bit too excited? Here ya go.” Ace passed the phone. Arturo dug in his pockets and retrieved the now crumpled up paper. He quickly dialled the number and was happy to hear that it only took two rings before a feminine voice answered.

“Hello?”

“Uh- _uh_ ¡Hola!”

“Is this who I think it is?” The female voice sang. “¿Arturito?”

“Ejeje sí.”

“What in the woyld is this goober doing?” Ace muttered, trying to listen in to the conversation but to no avail.

“So, are you calling for the tutoring? Very eager, eh?”

“Yes! Of-of course!”

“Well, you’re in luck cause I’m free right now! Your place or mine?”

“My place is a dump.” Said Arturo, with all the seriousness in the world.

“¡Oh Jajajajaja! ¡Eres bien gracioso Arturo! Pues dale, My house.”

“Still waiting for the punchline…” Ace rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. He could tell it was a lady’s voice but not being able to hear what the other party is saying, and Arturo not being particularly funny, made this prank a snooze fest.

All he could hear was the lady blabber on and Arturo going “mhm, mhm, ok. Got it. Ahuh.”

Ace snatched the phone out of Arturo’s hand but by the time it reached his ear he was met with a never-ending beep.

“Lame-o prank Arturo! You just wasted 50 cents!” Ace complained but Arturo’s mind seemed elsewhere, eyes half-lidded and an unfaltering smile.

“Wipe that dumb smirk off ya face! There ain’t nuddin’ funny!” Ace continued but Arturo still wasn’t all there.

“I _uh_ gotta go! I’ll be back soon!” Arturo chimed before running off, leaving the rest of the gang dumbfounded.

“Whatssss up with him?” Snake asked, turning to Ace.

“I dunno.” Ace shrugged his shoulders before starting to walk away. “Whatever. How ‘bout some video games?”


	2. Tutoring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lil' Arturo is conflicted, he likes getting spoiled but feels as if he's betraying the gang. That is until Valeria unintentionally gives him a great idea.

“Alright! So Arturito! Multiplication tables fire round!!” Valeria slammed her hands on the table and stood up. Arturo stood up on the chair, (it was the only way to see him from across the table) her sudden hype was contagious. Both of their hearts were pumping, Valeria pointed a finger directly at her no-longer-new friend.

_“¿¡Dos por dos!?”_

_“¡Cuatro!”_

_“¿¡Cinco por tres?!”_

_“¡Quince!”_

_“¡¿Seis por seis?!”_

_“¡Treinta y seis!”_

_“¡Perfecto!_ But you didn’t think it would be that easy now did you?! _Now in English! THREE TIMES FOUR?!_ ”

_“Twelve!”_

_“Eight times ten?!”_

_“Eighty!”_

_“Ten times ten?!”_

_“Uh uh-!!”_

_“You got this you got this!!”_ Valeria snapped her fingers and hopped in place, Arturo mimicking her hops in the intensity of the moment.

“ _Ninety-!?? Ummm???! Ninety-eight!_ ” Arturo pointed at her, confident in his answer.

“D'awww nooo!” Valeria threw her head back and shook her fist in the air dramatically. “It was one hundred." 

"Awww men…” Arturo whined, sitting back down. 

“Don’t worry about it though. You honestly did great, we’ve made a lot of progress in just two weeks!” Valeria praised.

“Now that was a lot! How about we get some kickass donuts? I have a bunch in the fridge.” Valeria started walking to the kitchen, knowing Arturo would follow behind her.

Even after coming here for 2 hours for 14 days straight, Arturo was still astonished at how big her house was. Two stories, Five bedrooms and three bathrooms; not only that but it was always clean. He felt both out of his element and relishing every second he could spend in the air-conditioned, upper-middle-class house. 

His favorite part of the house was undeniably the kitchen, it was the complete opposite of the dump. Always filled with the brim, so much so that unfinished, sometimes unopened food went bad. The part that would always make him slack-jawed was how they just threw the food away just because it went bad. It looked like a feast to him. 

“Well let’s see…” Valeria opened up the refrigerator. “We have glazed, boston creamers, chocolate and sprinkles, cheesecake, cheesecake with strawberry filling…" 

This was part of his new daily routine, hearing Valeria list off countless amounts of options just for him. It made him simultaneously feel like a king and dirt. 

"The gang could be enjoying all of this…” he thought

“Uh sorry, what? Which flavor?”

“Can’t we just eat all of them?" 

This was also part of the routine. Right after Valeria lists off all the options, Arturo just asks for all of it, and she always gives in. There’s not even much of a fight either.

"I mean… we can always just buy more. So yeah fuck it lets dig in.” Valeria pulls out the whole box. “I can just give you your lunch to go." 

Valeria dug into the fridge again, pulling out different arrays of leftovers while Arturo swallowed his third donut. It wasn’t like him to slow down, but at the same time, it wasn’t like him to think for himself; _what she just said,_ what she’s doing, gave him a great idea.

The short gang member has considered calling the boys in and ransacking the place more times than he’d like to admit. It’d be extremely easy, but Arturo is the type to get attached easily and not only did he think of this place as 2 hours of living in luxury, he also thought of Valeria as his friend. Selfishly, he didn’t want to give it up. 

At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel as if he’s betraying the gang. Keeping all these goods a secret and letting them go hungry.

But now he realized! "Valeria, how much lunch can I take?”

**…**

“Lil’ Arturo! You really outdone yourself today!” Ace yelled with a mouthful of mashed potatoes. 

“Duhhhh yea yea!” Billie agreed through obnoxious open-mouthed chews.

“And you’re telling me yous got this from where again?” Ace stuffed a huge piece of chicken in his mouth.

“A friend." 

"A friend, ah?” Ace smirked. “Just how close are you and this friend?" 

"Issss thisss where you’ve been running off to every afternoon?" 

Sweat was forming on Arturo’s forehead. He knew where this was going.

"Snake, you might be onta sum… That would explain why yous been packin’ on the pounds Lil’ turo. I woulda swore you were Billy if it weren’t for your height!” The whole gang laughed.

Arturo internally screamed, hoping they would drop it but he knew they won’t. 

“I think it’s time we payed your lil’ friend a visit lil’ Arturo.” Ace got up, mischief smeared on his face.

“No Ace! No!”

“No Ace! Noo!” Ace mocked.

“Shut up and give us the address will ya’?”

“Ace this isn’t a good idea! Im- I’m sure we can bargain for some food! We don’t have to steal it!”

“Oh but lil’ Arturo…” Ace sang, ‘lil’ holding a bit of venom. “Stealing is the Gangreen way!" 

"Yes! Yes! But it’s risky! I have a plan! We can get the most amount of things possible with no risk!" 

Despite the dark sunglasses, Arturo could feel the burn of Ace’s stare. The room was dead silent, no one dared speak up, they knew the boss would hit them if they did.

” _…Well,_ whaddya have in mind?“ 


	3. Arturo's Little Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Love interests finally meet.

"What's next? Yous gonna pull out the disinfectant? _Relax!_ " Ace yelled.

Arturo had been tidying up the place ever since Ace gave him the green light on his plan. I mean… how much can you really clean up a shack in the city dump? But even ignoring that, all of this is uncharacteristic of Arturo. 

"Why d'ya even care so much? We's just scammin' somebody." "This somebody is my friend." " _Ohhh yeah._ Forgot that bit." "Plus she's very nice." "Wait wait wait wait wait- _Reverse_! Repeat that? _**She?!**_ _Oh hahahahahahahaha-!_ " Ace held his stomach as he bent over, his other hand holding himself up using the table.

"That explains everything!" Ace heaved with laughter. Arturo couldn't help the pink tint on his cheek. "It's nothing like that Ace…" Arturo fidgeted with his thumbs.

"Of course it is! I means _look at you!_ Cleanin' up the place! Tryna convince us not to rob her! Didn't take ya as the romantic type Lil' Arturo." 

"Whatsss all the commotion?" Snake questioned, finally looking up from a magazine. 

"Lil' Arturo here's got a lil crush on his lil' friend! What's her name? Lupita?" It seems like Billy and Grubber tuned into the conversation because they joined Snake and Ace in the mockery.

"No! Her name's not Lupita! And _I do not have a crush on her!_ " Arturo's frustration began to simmer, he wasn't used to being the butt of the joke; that job was usually occupied by Snake.

"Is it Maria? Or- _or_ Flores?" He laughed uncontrollably. "No! No! Her name's Valeria! And she's hot, _para tu información._ " That was the straw to break the camel's back, the whole gang laughed as if they were at the world's best comedy show.

"What's so funny? I don't understand." Arturo really couldn't wrap his head around it. " _How- How tall is she?_ If she hopped on your shoulders would you finally be able to ride at the fair?" The whole gang laughed so hard you'd think Dave Chappelle's in the building. 

While Ace and the rest laughed their butts off Arturo heard a knock at the door. He looked back at the boys; they were obviously so engrossed in Ace's joke they didn't hear it.

"Hola Valeria." Arturo greeted the moment he fully opened the door. "¡Saludos Arturito!" Valeria happily greeted back.

**_…._ **

Ace's laughter got caught in his throat. Was this reality? The way the light reflected on her brown skin, the way her long, silky, black hair shined, how the combination of her ruffly baby blue tank top and her washed-out jeans made her look like a personified hourglass. 

She's…. _She's hot._ What the heck? Arturo brought in a hot chick? Not just hot… angelic in a teenage kind of way, an 'I shower thrice a day' type of angelic. The type of angelic that holds her nose and makes gagging noises when he and the boys pass by the café. Because of course, she and every other teenage angel hangs out exclusively in the café. The arcade at the mini-mart is too dirty and common for them.

The dump is the definition of common and dirty, Ace now realized why Arturo looked like he was going to wipe down the whole shack. Hindsight is 20/20 and he should've just let him. Now embarrassment sits at the pit of his stomach, if it was stuck in his throat he could've easily swallowed it down. There was no quick fix to erase this feeling, he opted to fake it 'till he made it. 

He had no idea what they were talking about but he walked towards them regardless.

" _Hey._ " He leaned against the doorframe, taking up most of the space, forcing Arturo to scoot to the side.

"Don't think we've been properly introduced. Excuse Lil' Arturo's manners, _y'know how twelve-year-olds tend to be._ I'm Ace." He held out his hand.

"Valeria." 

Her nose scrunched up when she shook his hand. Ace's confidence went down a few notches but he didn't let it show.

"Not to be rude, but can you move a bit? I was talking something with Arturito." 

Ace looked over to Arturo, who just shot him a cheeky smile. 

Ace hated not being in control, and it was more than clear that Arturito had this chick in the palm of his hand. How? Ace couldn't wrap his head around, but one thing's for certain: Ace didn't appreciate the cheekiness. 

He rolled his eyes and made space for Arturo.


	4. Smelly.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valeria gets invited over to Arturo's. She didn't expect his family to be so... uh... green?

Valeria was utterly confused when Arturo invited her to her city dump. Thoughts of possible assault and murder crossed her mind. “At least I won’t have to deal with the parents anymore.” Was her reasoning to ignore every fiber of her body protesting.

“I’m going out.” The seventeen-year-old looked down at her mother who laid on the leather couch. The typing of an up-to-date blackberry is a synonym of ‘Lydia Sanchez,’ 39-year-old mother to Valeria Sanchez. Who’s personality is summed up by nagging her daughter when she isn’t picture perfect and being emotionally negligent to a cartoonish effect.

“That’s nice." _Click clack click clack._

"And I’m going to jaywalk." _Click clack click clack._

"I’m going to jaywalk all the way to an AA meeting and invite all of them to a drink and it’ll be your treat." 

… _click clack click clack._

"It’s not like we need all this money any-”

“Money. Is that what you want? Grab 50 from my purse and go do your nails or something. They’re looking a bit tattered.”

“I painted them yellow yesterday." 

"Yellow was never your color, _now can you leave me alone?_ I’m having an important conversation." 

Valeria stood there, looking between her mom and the blackberry. There wasn’t anything left to say so Valeria just walked away. 

**_…_ **

Now that she’s actually in the dump she can’t say it’s as bad as she envisioned in her head.

She always assumed Arturo was a special case, but when she saw the rest of his family she realized the green skin was hereditary. 

Maybe it’s from living in the city dump.

After asking Ace to step aside, Arturo invited Valeria in. It smelled just as rancid inside as it did out, there was really no break for her nostrils. 

"So uh, can we start our lesson now? I have some things to do after this.” Valeria lied. Truth was, she just felt grossed out. 

“Oh, yea yea! Take a seat!” Arturo pulled out a chair for her. The moment she sat, all of the other chairs were occupied by every member of the family except for Arturo.

Valeria laid her bookbag on the table, pulling out an array of books, notebooks and her academic calendar.

“Arturito, do you want my seat? I can just give you the tutoring standing up." 

"Oh no no no! You’re our guest! It would be rude for us to leave yous standin’ up.” Ace interrupted. 

“Plus, you’re a laaadyy.” The big one added. 

Valeria shot the big guy a smile, “That’s very kind of you uh-” “Billy. Big Billy." 

Valeria reached across the table to shake his hand. "Hi, Billy! My name’s Valeria!" 

Billy stared at her hand, seemingly contemplating the situation before grabbing it. Billy pulled the petite girl across the table into a hug.

_"Hiiii!”_

Valeria questioned the durability of her ribs, lungs and nostrils all simultaneously. These guys ever heard of deodorant? 

“Billy! **_Drop her!_** ” Ace almost leapt out of his seat. 

“Sorry 'bout that. He gets excited.”

“It’s fine. Big Billy big hugs, right?” She showed off her pearly whites to the gentle giant.

“Duhhh duhh yeaaa!" 

"Well, Arturito let’s start!” Valeria went back to her spot, but they found themselves in the same predicament. Arturo didn’t have a seat. 

Maybe he could’ve had one if Ace let him have his, it would be the most convenient once since it was right across Valeria. But if course, Ace re-occupied the chair, this time kicking his feet up on the table.

This guy was seriously rubbing her the wrong way.

“ _Ahem_.” Valeria cleared her throat, hoping he would get the message. “ _AHE-_ ” “Gesuntai.”

Valeria seriously couldn’t tell if Ace was being sarcastic or not. 

“Sssssso… where are you from?” The boy next to her chimed in. 

Were these boys ever gonna let her start her study session? She didn’t want to come off as rude, after all, she’s a guest in a homeless, orphaned, green-colored family’s shack in the dump; their life is plenty-hard without the rude remarks, but damn, was it hard to bite her tongue.

“I’m from here, y'know, Townsville.” Valeria opened up the textbook, searching through the pages.

“Yeah but where in?”

“Jeez…” she let out an awkward laugh, “Can I at least have your name before the interrogation?”

“Sssnake." 

” _Nice_.“ Valeria gave him an 'ok’ sign. "Do you have a pet snake or something? That would be cool.” She positioned herself to face him. She supposed he either has fast reflexes or isn’t used to people getting so close but he pulled back a bit before letting his guard down. 

“No, but I’ve alwaysss wanted one.” “Have you seen the yellow ones? I don’t know what they’re called but if you pass by the pet store they sell them. They look real scary but I touched one and they don’t do anything.” “ _Yesss yesss!_ the albino ball python. I prefer the normal ball python though, the albino isss too expensssive.” “Yeahh it was like 300 bucks! The other green one was like 40.” “Yesss but itsss my dream to own it, not only issss it cheaper, but we’d be matching.” Snake smiled softly.

“Bro.” Valeria snorted, “Just buy it.” “We ain’t got 40 bucks to spend on a pet.” Ace interrupted… _again_. 

Albeit rude, Ace did have a point. Valeria was getting a bit too comfortable, her privilege was showing. 

Ignoring Ace, she looked Snake right in the eyes, “We can talk about it more later, yeah? I don’t know much about snakes but I like them.”

Maybe it was the eye contact or the interest she was showing but Snake blushed while looking away. “That sssoundss nice." 

” _Welp_!“ She went back to facing the table. "Since there’s a full house today, c'mon Arturito!” Valeria patted her thighs.

Arturo didn’t need to be told twice, it seemed as if the pre-teen inhumanly teleported on her lap. 

“ _Woah! Woah!_ " 

Valeria couldn’t tell what she had against him, but if Ace interrupted _one more god-damn time-_

"Valeria…” Ace said in a sing-song way, Valeria could tell it was an attempt to flirt but it just came off as condescending.

He couldn’t even pronounce it right, he pronounced it like the illness. 

’ _He’s probably more familiar with malaria than any girl.’_ the thought made Valeria snicker. 

Ah fuck. She looked at Ace, who now sports a shit-eating grin.

_'He totally thinks you just pulled the 'giggling schoolgirl tactic,’ does he think I’m flirting with him? Augh! What if he gets the wrong idea and he starts hopping along for every other tutoring session? What if he makes Arturito try to hook us up? What if-’_

“Valeria you don’t gotta sit Lil’ Arturo on your lap. He ain’t _that_ lil.” Ace dropped his feet from the table and replaced them with his elbows, leaning forward a bit. “The boys can fetch him a seat." 

"Oh uh, Alright.” Valeria didn’t really know what to say, even if he is a stereotypical, cocky, tryhard asshat, his presence was still dominant, especially when face to face. 

“ _Well?_ Ya heard me boys. _**Scram**_!" 

The other boys, including Arturo, scrambled up and out of their seats. Raspberries, "Yess bosss,” “Yeahh Yeahh” and “Si Ace!” filled the room.

With a now silent room, Valeria sunk into her chair.

It was just her and Ace.


	5. Ace's First Impression

[ _**[In case you're wondering how Valeria looks like!]** _ ](https://kk-gorillaz.tumblr.com/post/631892001525268480/this-is-my-oc-valeria-sanchez-from-my-ace-copular)

She wrote faux notes, trying to look invested in what was actually gibberish. The tapping of his fingers was the only indicator that he was still there.

She pondered… where did she go wrong? How did she end up here? If she wanted to get up close and personal with wanna-be boys she could've just stayed in the bleachers after school. 

Maybe that's why Valeria felt this uncalled for dislike towards him. The boys at school did in fact try too hard, but their attempts were directed towards perfection. Well… their clean-shaven, private school, Straight As and even straighter sexuality version of perfection. 

This guy tried too hard to be the exact opposite, he wore his three pubes on his face with pride, probably a highschool drop-out and fucks anything that manages to breathe in his direction. 

This was a new breed for Valeria, only seen through television and books. Her mother would drag her by the hair out of this dump if she found out she was sharing a table with a delinquent. That fact plus the thin layer of intrigue at the unknown excited Valeria in such an anxiety-inducing way it short-circuited her fight or flight response. She was simply frozen, the only motion her body could execute was scribbling.

“Yous pretty into that writing of yours.” his New-York Italian accent broke the ice.

“Yeah… It’s pretty much all I do. Y’know, numbers and stuff.” Valeria exhaled loudly through her nose, she couldn’t muster up an awkward laugh. 

“I actually don’t know. Numbers ain’t ever been my thing. That ah- what yous teaching Lil’ Arturo?” 

Valeria looked up, was he nervous? He looked at her notes as if they were a foreign language, little did he know it was a completely made up one.

“Nah, I’m teaching him basic arithmetic.” She ripped the paper and scrunched it into a ball. “We finished going over multiplication and today we start division.” ironically, she couldn’t find a trashcan in sight and threw the paper in her bookbag. 

“Uhuh.” Ace’s slack-jawed expression made her smirk, this guy has no idea what she’s talking about, does he? 

"Did you know studies show that practice from home can increase a student's performance in the classroom? You should give him a hand, after all, you're his older brother." 

_"Brotha?_ Maybe from anotha' motha' but Lil' Arturo ain't my brotha'!" 

"What? Then how come you guys look so alike?" Valeria's upper lip turned up, disbelief written across her face.

" _Look-Alike_?" Ace repeated with disbelief that blew hers out of the water, it tettered on offended surprise. "Hows me and Lil Arturo look alike?" 

Valeria scanned Ace's face quickly. _Shit._ "Um… well…. I don't know if this is considered racist _but uh-_ " "The green?" "Yeah…" Valeria looked away in shame, covering her forehead with her hand. "I've just never come across any other people with your uhm… complexion. _Which is very nice by the way!_ Haha…" Valeria would've bitten at her nails if she wasn't in such a dirty environment. 

"So you can see why I made the deduction that you guys were family guess I was wrong!" She let out a struggled laugh. 

Ace opened his mouth to reply but Valeria cut him off. " _So!_ If you're not related then what are you guys?" Her furrowed eyebrows gave away the falsehood of her smile. 

"Well! I thought you'd never ask! Why _we's the Ganggreen Gang!_ " He exclaimed filled with pride.

If Valeria had a drink she would spit it. " ** _Gangrene?! Gang?!_** " Her mind couldn't process which one was worse, the illness or the criminal affiliation. 

"Yup. That's right." He didn't quite pick up on Valeria's negative connotation. 

Valeria's skin suddenly itched, she had to get out of there and get out of there fast! _'Holy shit I've already touched Arturo, am I contaminated? I have to call dad ASAP! Oh god!!'_ her mind raced.

"You okay? Yous lookin' a bit panicked there, Val. I know we're infamous but we's not gonna hurt ya." 

Valeria wanted to throw up. They suffer from gangrene! No wonder they smelled so bad! She started packing up in a hurry, not bothering to utter a word.

" _Wait! Wait!_ Where's you goin'?!" Ace got up, following her quick strides as she headed towards the door.

"I forgot I had another tutoring appointment! Double booked myself _whoops!_ Gotta run!" Right when Valeria was about to reach for the door nob Ace beat her to it.

"Now you's not gonna give me that, _that's the woyst excuse I've heayd this week!"_

Ace took a moment to look at the girl, her eyes wild with anxiety, he couldn't really blame her, the gang really didn't know how to treat girls their age. He was afraid to ruin the plan but he didn't expect it to be this fast. He had to try to salvage this.

" _We's not gonna hurt you._ " Ace repeated, this time softer as if he was trying to soothe a stray dog. 

Her breathing slowed down a bit, he released the doorknob, putting his hands up to show he meant no harm.

This seemed to calm Valeria's nerves in regards to that, but there was still something weighing on her mind. 

"The gangrene. My dad's a doctor. Best in Townsville actually. I could give you the office's number if you'd like." The words spilt out of her lips, her energy resembled that of a chihuahua. Big eyes, skinny with a slight tremble, is probably ready to piss itself on a seconds notice.

"Me and the boys ain't sick. It's just the name." He didn't even know what she was on about, the gang was the only gangreen Ace knew. 

_"You swear?"_

_"I swear."_

Valeria felt like the dumbest girl in Townsville walking back to the table.


	6. Agreement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valeria takes the bait.

[ _**[A drawing of last chapter!]** _ ](https://kk-gorillaz.tumblr.com/post/632432876500156416/ace-took-a-moment-to-look-at-the-girl-her-eyes)

_**Screeeeech.** _

Arturo scooted his pile of wood that could barely classify as a chair towards the table.

Why the other boys insisted on staying for the tutoring Valeria would never understand, but she didn't want to get on the gang's bad side. 

"Alrighty, so 'Turito…" she looked around, all the boys’ eyes glued on her. What was up with them? She wiggled in her seat, feeling claustrophobic despite being in a pretty big shack. 

"Well, since you already know your times table this would be easy breezy. Division is just how many times can one number fit in a bigger number." She opened up Arturo's notebook (which she bought him just for tutoring). 

"For example, seven times three would be twenty-one, so twenty-one divided by seven would be three because seven-" Ace accidentally interrupted her by yawning obnoxiously loud. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. "because seven fits three times in twenty-one."

" _Ooooohhh!_ I get it!" Arturo slammed his hand on the table in excitement. " _Let me try one, let me try one!_ " 

"Hahahahaha! Pipe down Arturo! Valeria playfully nudged him.

Ace simmered in his seat, arms crossed and feet tapping the floor. 

_'Hows lil' Arturo get on so well with a broad like her? What's that lil' twerp got that I don't?'_ He wasn't following along to what they were saying anymore, he just observed them. 

He's known her for less than an hour and he already knew his favorite part about her: her dimples. 

The small indents on her cheeks only appeared when the little knucklehead was around, not to mention Snake and Billy managed to make them come out. 

_'I ain't jealous or nun'.'_ Ace saw how Arturo and Valeria were shoulder to shoulder, you coulda sworn those two were having the time of their lives with that nerd stuff. 

_'I ain't jealous. I just can't let my team outshine me, I'm they leader for cryin' out loud! If anybody here is gettin’ that giyl it's me. Plus, it ain't even about the giyl, it's about respect, it's about ranks. Once I get her I'll just kick ‘er to the curve. That'll teach 'em.'_ He scowled while looking down. 

He looked back up, analyzing the scenario, she and Arturo were huddled up, talking ‘loser,’ Grubber and Billy looked bored, Snake was the only one paying attention, and it was half really, Ace could tell by the way he licked his lips. Snake had a whole other language of corporal expressions based on his tongue. 

Arturo and Valeria were in their own little bubble and everyone else was just a spectator.

_‘I ain’t no spectatah, I’m a do-er.’_

“How’d you get that number?" Ace pointed randomly at their notebook.

"Oh. Well, that's just the number I picked for the exercise." She had a leftover smile from her and Arturo's banter.

"Whydya pick that number?" 

"Because fifteen is divisible by five."

"What's that mean?" 

" _I know! I know!_ It means you can divide it by that number!" Arturo answered for her, causing Ace to shoot daggers his way. Arturo got the message and sank into his seat.

The gang leader turned back to her, sporting the classic Ace Copular smirk. "And whatdas dat mean?" 

"I explained what it means, have you not been paying any attention?" 

"I been payin' attention but it's just so hard y'know? I ain't ever been to no school." 

" _You.. ain't ever been to no school…?_ " Valeria's eyes softened, she leaned over to Ace.

" _Oh no, dearie!_ Me and the boys ain't ever been to no school!" He held his own hand and pressed it on his cheek. " _We's been rejected by society!_ " He placed the back of his hand against his forehead, " _Completly forgotten!_ " He shook his fists " _ **Literally thrown in the trash!**_ " 

" _You poor souls…_ " Valeria empathized. "I'll- I'll teach you guys." 

" _Yous will?_ " He leaned over to her, bottom lip puckered, puppy eyes taking the main stage and hands in prayer. 

"I’ll help you boys..." Her brown orbs pooled with pity. 

" _Oh, Val!_ You don't know how much dat means to us!" A smile crept up Ace's face, "We bouts to make a _great_ team!"


	7. When in Rome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Valeria is confident in her abilities in being able to help the boys, but... boys will be boys and when in Rome...

"And now I don't know if I made the right choice." Valeria stuffed broccoli in her mouth.

"Well… I've never heard of any Gangreen Gang." The other girl replied with a finger against her lip. "Maybe they're like a squad that calls themselves a gang. Y'know, to sound cool. I don't know. I don't really know about gangs." The pale blonde looked up, probably trying to recall any information she might've off-handedly heard.

"Mariah, I would be very concerned if you did."

" 'I would be very concerned if you did' at least I'm not affiliated with one."

"Har, har. Very funny." Valeria rolled her eyes.

Mariah stuffed her mouth with the fresh frozen shepherd's pie, "Hey! Conshider it charity guerk!"

"Charity work is what you do for the lunch ladies by eating this gunk." Valeria waved her spoon down, her beef fell on to the plate with a splat.

" _Ish good!_ " Mariah gulped, "You're just spoiled."

"Maybe so." Valeria rested her hand on her palm, she looked around at the bustling lunchroom.

"I shink itsh a good shing! Charity guerk looksh very good on a reshume!"

"What's good girls!" A boy yelled to Valeria's left, she looked over. "Hey Marcus." 

" _Hiii Marcus_!"

"Hey Val. _Mariah~_ " he pursed his lips playfully.

"Shit wish ush!" She pointed at the empty seat next to Valeria.

" _Augh gross!_ I can see inside the tavern!" He placed his tray down.

Mariah gulped hard. " _Sorry_!"

"So what's pop-a-lockin' lately?" Marcus chimed happily.

"Val got herself in a sticky situation. Involved with a group of delinquents."

"Everyone is a group of delinquents in this city." Marcus shrugged.

"That's what I'm telling her. Like every teenager tries to act hard." Mariah pointed her fork at Valeria. "I think it's sweet that you get to meet more peeps."

Marcus snickered and that earned a glare from Valeria.

"It's not sweet!" Valeria cupped her mouth so anyone outside of their triangle can't hear, "They're _a gang_!" She whisper yelled.

"Errybodyy is in a gang, Val. I mean just look at the band clique, they keep saying 'Wolfgang.'" Marcus raised his eyebrows as if his point couldn't be any more clearer.

"Alright yeah, but that's because of Beethoven!" Valeria raised her hands.

"Gotta get your inspiration from somewhere. Gang names gotta be related to what your gang is about, _duh_." Mariah stuck her tongue out. "Plus, you just proved Marcus right. Even Beethoven was in a gang."

"Beethoven wasn- _augHHH!_ " Valeria slid her hand down her face.

"Ever seen them commit any crimes?" Mariah inquired.

"Well- _no_ , but-" "Then they're probably not a real gang. Take a chill pill, girl."

"The Gangreen Gang is mega legit-! I can feel it!"

Marcus' eyes widened. " _ **Gangreen Gang?!**_ "

"... Uh. Yea?" Mariah's confusion was obvious. "The issue?"

Marcus turned to Valeria, "Do not get involved with those dudes! They're the real dealio!" He grabbed Valeria by the shoulders and shook her, " _Trust me_!"

"How could you even think about this?!" Marcus looked truly flabbergasted.

"I... I want to rehabilitate them..."

"Rehab- _rehabilitate them?!_ Have you seen them?! You've surely smelt them! No hope there, _truuust_ me.'

"You've met them?" Mariah asked.

"As a previous public-school attendee, I have a say in this. Those guys are trouble. You've never heard of them cause of your 'born into upper-middle-class' ignorance, but they have a bad rep." He side-eyed Valeria, " _Real bad_."

"Damn. Are they cute though?" Mariah asked Valeria. Valeria opened her mouth but was cut off.

" _Cute?!_ Those boys are butt ugly. The only decent one is the leader, but the boy's a sleaze bag. The definition of a scrub."

"I wouldn't say he's a scrub-" Marcus shot Valeria a death glare. " _He's homeless_!" She defended.

"This is seriously upsetting me, Val. Don't try to play savior and end up as a martyr."

She tried to calm her thoughts with the sound of her steps.

**_Pit Pat. Pit Pat._ **

_‘Don’t try to to play savior and end and up as a martyr.’_ she clenched her fist, _‘Shut up! What do you know, Marcus?’_ Valeria thought you herself.

Her ego was wounded, it was obvious with the way she held herself. She hurriedly strode with her head up, her right eyebrow twitching despite her trying her hardest not to.

A ruckus and the smell of garbage got her out of her head. “What is going on in there…?”

She followed the noise of chaos and navigated through the heaps of garbage. Her face scrunched up whenever she stepped on something particularly putrid.

“HAHAHAHAHA!” “D-Do itsss again!” She could hear the rowdy teens.

“Boys! This better be worth ruining my Adidas for!” Her yell fell on deaf ears, the sound of testosterone and banging metal overpowering her by a lot.

She turned at a large pile of garbage and was met with five boys jumping and rambling in excitement, Ace had a bat in his hand and there was a very damaged car. She could deduce what was happening but asked anyway, “What are you guys doing?”

None of them seemed to notice she was there. They all circled around Ace, who was the star of the show it seemed. _‘More like the middle of the circle jerk’,_ she snickered to herself.

She was behind Grubber (she could tell by the height and hunchback) she reached out and touched his shoulder delicately so as to not startle him.

His head whipped back, “ _ **PBFFFFTT!!!**_ ”

All the boys head suddenly whipped towards her, it gave off a ‘caught in doing an illegal ritual,’ vibes.

“Oh _heyyy!_ Didn’t see ya’ there. Yous as quiet as a mouse.” Ace used his bat as a cane and leaned on it.

“You guys are as loud as elephants… What are you even doing?” she inspected the carnage, dents all over the car.

“ _Dahhh Dahhh! **VaaleeriAh!**_ ” Billy greeted.

“Hello, Billy!” Valeria waved.

“We’s hittin’ da car.” Ace said loudly, as to draw the attention back on himself.

Valeria looked at the car, then at the bat, then at Ace, “... Why?”

“Cause it’s fun.”

Valeria would’ve been convinced he was as nonchalant as he made himself out to be but the slight tremble in his hands gave him away.

She could’ve called him out, make him look stupid and knock him down a peg but she brushed off the thought. She was indifferent to how he felt about her.

“How is that fun?” she asked instead.

“Well ‘cause _uh-_ ” he was at a loss for words, he’s never given it much thought before. Gosh, he was going to look dumb in front of her! He scrambled to come up with an answer, “itsa’ stress reliever.”

 _‘That was pathetic! Cool your jets!’_ he screamed internally.

“Oh. That makes sense. It’s good you guys do that.” Valeria hadn’t seen it that way before, she thought they were just acting like cavemen.

_‘Nailed it!’_

“Well, sorry to cut the group therapy short, but it’s time for group tutoring.”

Arturo rolled his head back and groaned.

Valeria looked over and couldn’t stop her lower lip from pouting, “I thought you loved tutoring!”

“Pues claro! But it’s mucho! Every day for dos horas!”

“But if you were in school you’d be five days for eight! My tutoring adds up to about two school days!” she was really hurt by this confession. She tried hard to make learning fun.

“It’s mucho. I’m not used to it…” Arturo could tell she was saddened, everybody could tell.

Despite the negative surprise, she understood, it must be hard. Especially at the pace she was going. She wasn’t gonna beat herself up over it.

“Yous lookin’ down, Valeria.” Ace offered her the bat.

“ _Absolutely not._ ” she didn’t miss a beat.

“Ohhhsss c’mon!” Snake egged her on.

“Theyse this sweet motorcycle, you can have a go at.” Ace pointed to it.

“ _Pbbbfttt_!”

“ ** _ValerhiaaA hit! ValeriahH hit!_** ”

“¡Dale! ¡Dale!”

“Go onsss!”

“We should really study…” Valeria looked back at the shack’s direction.

“We’s can study later. _You know yous want toooo_.” Ace cooed and wiggles the bat.

“Valeria! Valeria! Valeria! Valeria!” the other boys started chanting.

Even though she rolled her eyes the smile on her face gave her away. She huffed out a breath as she dropped her white Jansport on the floor. “We study later.” she picked up the bat and eyeballed Ace. He drew an ‘x’ on his heart and then put both his hands up.

The boys started cheering ‘woohoo’s as she walked up to the rusty motorcycle.

Valeria didn’t hesitate to swing with force. The strenuous activity and the boys losing their marbles made her laugh. Now she was the one in the middle of the circle. The harder she hit the harder they cheered.

Her mind wandered back to Marcus, _‘Can’t believe he’s afraid of these guys! What a pussy! Also... can’t believe he doubts of my abilities. Does he not think I’m good enough? Nobody ever fucking does anyway.’_

Ace has hit enough stuff to tell the difference between feel-good hits and hitting things in anger. He saw how she rose the bat all the way behind her head, how her swings got sloppier and harder. He couldn’t see her face but he wouldn’t be surprised if she was crying.

The boys were none the wiser and were going crazy with adrenaline, Ace wasn’t gonna lie, he was too. And even in her frenzy, he could feel her adrenaline radiating off her. Her long silky hair bounced with every swing, he fed off her energy. She wasn’t even looking at him, he knew she wasn’t thinking of him but despite all this, he still felt as if they were sharing a moment. A messy, sweaty, rage-filled breakdown moment, but Ace has never met a moment different. This was good enough for him.

Valeria was heaving when she threw the bat on the floor. Her back faced them for a few seconds, she was regaining her composure.

The rest of the gang’s hollering started to quiet down, everyone was coming down from their high.

She turned to face them, still out of breath, beads of sweat making stray hairs stick to her forehead.

“Dang girlie didn’t know you had all that in ya’. Where’d that come from?”

Valeria walked towards her backpack. “I hate my mom.”

Ace fell silent for a moment, not out of surprise or respect but contemplation.

“Well… wanna piss ‘er off?”


	8. Lunch

“This is literally the lamest idea, Ace.” She knew the pin by muscle memory. “She’s not going to question this.” 

“This ain’t the idea, Val.” “-Valeria.” “Valeria.” “Then what is this?” Valeria took her mother’s credit card back. 

“Lunch.” Ace clicked his tongue and winked at her. “Go on Billy, grab our pizzas.” 

At the sight of Valeria grabbing the 2 liter Soda Ace spoke up, “Wait wait!” Valeria gaze yelled ‘what now?’ “Can we’s get slushees instead?” 

The cashier and Ace looked over at Valeria, they both waited for her approval, except the green one was much more wanting. 

“Fine. Alright.” She gave in with a poker face. 

Valeria didn’t even know how she let herself get talked into this. No, not paying for their lunch, she didn’t mind that bit. It was leaving the school premise to hang out with them,  _ that _ left her confused. She will never understand how the school took their “we’re her cousins” bait but it didn’t matter now did it? She was here, with 10 boxes of pizza and her green company. 

They sat in the banquettes at the corner, Billy, Valeria and Arturo in one and Grubber, Ace and Snake in the other.

“Yous gonna dig in?” Ace asked before taking a slice. 

“No. I don’t eat pizza.” 

“WHAT?!” Ace nearly spit out the bite he just took.

“W-Whatss you mean you-youss don’t eatss pizza?” Snake asked flabbergasted. 

“The grease breaks me out.” 

“That doesn’t matter, Valeria. You’d look fine either way, girl.” that was Arturo’s attempt at convincing, “Have one.” he offered her his half bitten slice. 

“Thank you for the compliment, but no.”

“Then what’s yous gonna eat then?” Ace wasn’t in the mood to peer pressure her right now.

“I’m gonna eat lunch at school, this is just a detour.” 

“Yous should eat sum’n else.”

“I know school lunches are bad but they’re not that bad.” They were. 

“Yous should eat sum’n else cause yous not headed back.” 

“I’m sorry, what?” The girl straightened her back, she’s expecting more of a reply than his nonchalant chewing. 

_ “Well-?” _

Ace put a finger up and Valeria stayed silent until he finished. She could see why he was the leader, how the fuck did he take control of the group in such a short time? _ ‘Note to self: Do not be submissive.’  _

“Yous not headed back, yous wanna tick off your mom, right?” 

“Yes, but that would be detrimental to me, not my mom.”

“Smaller words, Val.”

“It’s Valeria, and in poor mans words, I would be the one hurt by skipping class.” 

“Oh but Valeria! A lil’ hooky never hurt no one.” 

“Obviously you’ve never been to Townsville’s Private Institute.” 

Arturo sneakily slid a slice towards her and she absentmindedly took it. 

“Yous really goin’ against the process…” Ace sighed and leaned back on the banquette. He bit his lip and looked around before leaning on the table. “Look, your school is strict, right? They’ll notice yous gone, they’ll call your ma’ and bada bing she’d be so gosh darn mad it’ll be a miracle if she doesn’t send ya’ Splitsville.”

“My mom would never kick me out.” 

“Point is, you only miss a day.”

“¡Y puedes pasártela con nosotros!” Arturo did his bit to convince her.

The straight-laced girl checked her watch, twenty minutes until the bell rang. The gang looked at her with expecting eyes. If the boys were characters in the games her little brother played, they’d have their charisma at 100.

“...Okay.”

“YEAHH!” The boys got riled up and started yelling, this caused people to stare, Valeria couldn’t help but shrink into herself and cover her face. She was laughing because of both embarrassment and the absurdity of the boys. “Alright, that’s enough now.” 

The boys heard her but she said it so shyly they kept going it off, that was until Billy started chanting her name. “Billy! Stohaha-ppp! People are staring!” She playfully slapped him. 

**_“Duhh Sorry Valehriah!”_ **

“It’s alright Billy, eat up.” she rubbed his shoulder, “Anyway, what’s the plan for today.”

“Well, me and the boys usually hit up the arcade at the mini-mart.” “ _ -Augh!  _ The mini-mart?!” Valeria grimaced. 

Ace’s embarrassment panged in his chest, he knew it was a matter of time before Valeria looked at them like that but he felt pathetic now that it’s actually happening. 

Wasn’t the mini-mart the place where every teenager hung out? Now that he thought about it, he’s never seen a teen with a uniform at the mini-mart. It must’ve been the public school hangout… not the private one. 

It started dawning on Ace just how alien Valeria was. Or maybe he and the boys were the aliens. 

Valeria kept talking, she had no idea how insecure she just made Ace feel; that relieved him, he preferred she didn’t see him like that. 

“-and that’s why I avoid the mini-mart.” “Oooooh…” cooed the rest of the boys. “Makess s-sensse.” Snake added. 

“Pbfthhh!” 

“Oh I’m sorry, Grubber, I don’t understand.” Valeria grabbed another slice of pizza. Ace took notice of how she left the crust. 

Ace translated, “Where would you prefer to go?” 

“Let’s go to the mall!” “Nuh-uh!” Ace shot her down. 

“Wess not a-allowed atss the mall.” 

“Not allowed at the mall?” the incredulousness in her face was evident. 

“Yeah, Sum’n about not following the dress code. Wes go in anyway if it wasn’t for the massive mall cops like seriously! Whats they feedin’ them?! Plus it don’t make no sense! I ain’t see nun’ wrong with the way wes dressed.” 

Valeria wasn’t going to explain that it had nothing to do with attire and had everything to do with fragrance. She opted for a simple, “People are stupid.” 

“But still! Don’t worry about that! They’ll let you in this time. Plus, when was the last time you guys got some new fits?” 

“Itss been a while…” Snake grabbed his shirt and looked longingly at Ace. 

“I’m convinced.” Arturo chipped in.

“I ain’t got an issue, ‘cept we ain’t got no moola.” Ace looked down sadly.

“Let’s have none of that!” Ace immediately looked up since Valeria said it pretty loudly. “You know it’s on me!” she shot him a charismatic wink.

His heart skipped a beat. 

He knew it was friendly but his heart still skipped a beat…  _ fuck. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: the reason why Valeria doesn’t like the mini-mart is because her little brother, Raul, ADOORESS the retro games at the arcade and drags her to it every chance he gets. It has nothing to do with her being classist or nun, but only if Ace was paying attention he would’ve known that...


	9. Shopping with Snake

“They’re with me.” Valeria pulled down her oversized sunglasses to shoot a dirty look at the mall cop. 

“Oh! Forgive me, ma’am.” 

“I’m not old.” She rolled her eyes and strut past the now annoyed security guard. 

“C’mon boys.” 

Ace stuck his tongue out at the cop before following Valeria, his stride just as egotistical as her strut. 

The boys looked around in awe. How can a place with so many people be so sparkly? The presence of the janitor mopping the floor answered their inquiry. 

“C’mon boys don’t be so loud. Where should we head on to first, Juicy Couture or GAP?” Valeria squealed and hopped in place. 

Ace looked from Valeria to the boys, he wasn’t used to hanging out with girls. The few rough and tumble girls he does know always made it a point to hate chicks like Valeria. 

“So… Where should we head to first? GAP or Juicy Couture? Ahh! I can already imagine you boys with so many fits! It’ll be so killer!” 

Ace’s vision kept switching between the boys and Valeria. It was two complete opposites, the boys looked dumbfounded still, a bit of drool going down Arturo’s chin as a matter of fact. They were itchin’ not only to steal but to hit up the arcade Valeria talked so highly about on the way here. 

“I Th-thinkss the tracksuits are cutess! B-But everyone’ss wearing them!” Snake was the first one to join Valeria, immediately engrossed in a conversation. 

“So you’re like the goth type right? Wanna do your own thing?” “I-I wouldn’tsssay goth, but-but I’d rather not wear a cutes sskirt if I kn-new ssomeone elsse iss gonna wearsss it.” 

Valeria’s eyes shot open, “Skirts…?” A small blush dusted Snake’s cheek before Valeria sucked in a giant gasp, “AHHHH! This increases our cute outfit potential by a lot!” Valeria gave Snake a quick but strong hug, not realizing this just made Snake’s blush multiply. 

“I’m gonna do some shopping with Snake first!” she grabbed Snake’s hands and lifted one of her legs in happiness. None of the boys had ever seen her so excited, this is her element, definitely. 

“Here…” Valeria pulled out her wallet, “Not to be a sugar mommy but I see that the rest of you aren’t that keen on shopping and I don’t want you boys getting kicked out.” She passed Ace two Benjamins. 

His breath caught in his throat. Arturo was right, his plan is actually working. 

_“If we get close enough to her, we’ll trick her into being our friend. I’m her friend and trust me, she doesn’t care about money! We can squeeze her dry!”_

He would go and hug Arturo if he could right now. Despite his excitement, he passed the $200 to Grubber. “I’m goin’ with yous twos.” 

He reasoned if she’s giving them $200 to blow on whatever they’d like, how much is she willing to spend on an outfit? By the look on her face and the watch on her wrist it’s clear to see that she’s heavy-handed on the spending. He can have her buy an expensive outfit, sell it and it wouldn’t cost him a dime. 

“ _... Oh._ You sure you’d like to join us?” The hesitance was obvious.

“Yes...?” 

“Well, What are you waiting for?” Valeria scrunched up her nose at him and started walking away with Snake. 

Ace took a second to take a deep breath, _that was really cute **a**_ _ **nd** directed at him. ‘Calm down, Jeez. You’re so hormonal right now.’ _

Ace sat in the benches outside of the dressing room stalls. His legs spread and head against the wall, those two chicks are totally in their little world. Valeria is just grabbing clothes for Snake, not even for herself, If he wanted to see Snake model he could’ve just stayed home. 

“Ace, What do you think?” Valeria’s jazz hands showed Snake off. Snake looked sheepish. 

“A polka dot dress is a bit too loud for you, _Snakette_.” 

Valeria rolled her eyes. “Don’t listen to him. He’s just itching for his turn.” 

“No. Hess gotss a point. I don’tss think I-I canss pulls it off.” 

Valeria walked around Snake, inspecting him from every angle. “I think it’s cute. It’s got a nice brown color so it’s not completely out of left field in comparison to the rest of your wardrobe.” Valeria grabbed the material on his waist and pulled back, “If we cinch the waist it’s gorg.” 

Snake perked up, “It iss ‘gorg.’” He smiled shyly, putting a hand on his now accentuated hip. 

“That’s it!” Valeria egged him on. “Give me cute!” Snake put both of his hands on his cheeks and put a foot up. “Give me casual!” He leaned his weight on his back foot and checked his nails. “ _Oooh, bitchy._ I like it. Give me fierce!” 

Snake spread his legs and looked directly in the mirror, the slits of his eyes going thinner as he let out a hiss. 

Valeria let go of the dress, her hands flying to her mouth, “Holy shit! How-?! The way you did that was mega hot!” Valeria fanned herself. Ace just sighed and rolled his eyes. “This is THE fit. If we match this with a fur coat it would- _eeeeee_!” Valeria screeched and hopped in place. “And with some heels? To die for!” 

“I agree.” Snake wished he could elaborate more, but he wasn’t used to this. It’s the first time someone was excited for him. 

“Well, Ace-y Ace Ace! Your turn!” Valeria beamed. 

“Finally.” Ace muttered under his breath. “Where to now?”

“Mens, duh. Unless you want something from here.”

“No thanks!” Ace doesn’t appreciate the immediate change in attitude when she’s talking to him. 

“So yous not gettin’ nuffin’ for yourself?” “Want me to get something for myself?” “Wouldn’t mind seeing yous try some on.” “...Alright. But don’t act all annoyed if I take longer than expected.” 

Her guard was down. This was much easier than Ace originally expected, so much so that he almost felt bad scamming naivety of this calibre. _Keyword: Almost._

Ace got up and wrapped his arm around Valeria, he looked over his shoulder at Snake, lowering his glasses so Snake could catch a glimpse of his vicious stare.

Snake shrunk in himself and stayed glued on his spot, watching them walk away.


	10. Chapter 10

[A visual of last Chapter!](https://kk-gorillaz.tumblr.com/post/637250856263319552/im-curious-about-what-snake-looks-like-in-your)

“Oh, Ace, wheres-?” Valeria looked around, “Where’s Snake?”

“Prolly still drooling over sum jewelry. But don’t worry ‘bout him. He’s a big boy, he can take care of himself.” Ace picked at his nails.

A Bossa Nova instrumental played in the background. When with Snake it was tranquil but now with Ace it became eerie. She wasn’t scared of the teen, just very cautious.

“You’re awfully rude to him.” She skimmed through some button-ups, pulling one out and raising it to his view.

“Nah. I ain’t the tropical type.” Ace joined her and skimmed through the polos directly in front of her. “Plus I’m a villain, whats you expect?” he leaned over the rack with a smirk.

“Officially?” She met his gaze with a scrunched up face.

“Government Official, dollie.”

“That means the Powerpuff Girls officially beat your ass.” She snorted before continuing her skimming, “Good for them.”

“Oh don’t get me started!” Ace rolled his eyes, “Those Powerpuke girls ain’t nun’ but spoilt brats.”

“I’m a spoilt brat.” Valeria looked around, reminding him where they were, “At least they use their spoilt lifestyle for good.”

“Them girls ain’t good. They just abuse theys powers. Think they’re better than everyone else, they don’t know how to talk stuff out, they just beat people up without knowing the full story!”

“Oh, and you just happen to be an innocent bystander caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time, Mister, ‘ Government Decreed Villain.’ ?”

“I ain’t no mistah or no bad guy. Simply misunderstood.”

Valeria got closer, “You definitely deserved it.” She walked backward with her tongue out before twirling forward and continuing her prowl for fashionable shirts.

Ace followed suit as she continued chatting, “I do feel for you guys, don’t get me wrong. But I’m Pro-Powerpuff, no changing my mind about it.” Valeria glanced back at Ace, who shook his head in disapproval. “Best we not talk about politics, then.” Valeria closed the conversation but quickly gasped, her eyes sprinkling.

She pulled out a purple button-up with fuschia accents, she stared at him with an open mouth smile, waiting for his reply.

“Does it look like I belong in the 70s?”

“Oh C’mon! This would look so good with your bell-bottoms! You wear bell-bottoms but psychedelic shirts are too vintage for you?”

“Yeah, these pants give me finesse. Plus, it ain’t exactly like I picked these out.”

“Found ‘em in the dump?”

“Bingo.”

“Well, either way, they work wonders for your ass.”

Ace covered up the bashful smile that crept up on him but Valeria took notice of his red tint.

“Don’t let it get to your head.”

“You said it.”

“Touché.”

Ace was halfway surprised, he expected to tightrope on throughout the day, as it seemed to happen when they were alone. She was too friendly too fast, either she’s the stupidest broad he ever met, he’s the one getting played

… or, she’s falling for that good ol’ Ace charm.

Another gasp escaped her, this time she showcased some leather bell bottoms, they had gold chain accents and an obnoxious Chanel logo on its backside.

Ace’s hands jumped to his cheeks; it was his turn to gasp. Valeria nodded her head. They were both enamored.

“It’s a bit tacky but fashionably tacky.” She inspected it and took a good glance at Ace. “Medium?”

“I’m a small.”

“Small?” Valeria looked incredulously. “No way.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ace’s brows furrowed.

“You’re not a small.”

“I’ve always been a small.” Ace crossed his arms.

Valeria could feel his insecurity so for his sake she obliged. “Well alright… We’re in luck cause this is the last one.”

“How much does it cost?” Ace asked nonchalantly. He was trying to move on as quickly as possible and taking this opportunity to know just how much bank he’s going to make off an idiot on the street.

Valeria took a peek at the tag, “Don’t worry about it and just try it on, yeah?”

The first thing Ace did after closing the dressing room door was check the tag, ‘this chick down to lay 100 bucks on a stranger’s pants? Means I’ll sell it at 150.’

The teen boy fumbled switching out of his clothes, embarrassment burst in his chest when the black pants started feeling tight as he pulled them up his thighs.

‘This is so humiliating for you!’ Ace thought to himself, he hated proving people right.

In a desperate attempt to avoid burning her amused face behind his eyelids he shimmied into the pants but to no avail. His palms got sweaty which made it harder to hold onto the leather, his heart started beating out of his chest while he gyrated his hips.

‘C’mon, C’mon, C’mon!’

A soft knock made him stop in his tracks.

“Is everything alright in there, Ace? Does it fit?”

“Uh- well-”

“Is it too tight?”

“A bit.”

“Let me see-” “No! Nah! It’s fine!” “I won’t laugh, let me see.”

Valeria waited outside the stall, she saw how the pants were still pooled on the floor. Valeria wouldn’t consider herself fake, but she had been upping the nice-meter with Ace today. Being in her comfort place facilitated this, but she was annoying herself with the smile Olympics she’s been competing in for the past ten minutes. She can’t exactly help these boys out if she doesn’t get along with their leader.

But seeing him defensive and secretive about himself made her feel the realest emotion she’d experience with this particular member of the gang. She’s also been the one who can’t get her pants up.

“Remember these are lady pants so it’ll be harder to pull up by the behind.” She laid her hands on the door, “It tends to be that way because the waist is thinner. Do you need any help?”

“I… yeah.”

“Let me get you a store assistant-” “Nah, yous ain’t gotta do that. Can’t you just lend me a hand?” he let out a nervous laugh.

“I can’t help you out!” her conservative upbringing made her outraged at the thought. “I don’t want to get kicked out!” She whisper yelled.

“Ain’t that the fun part? Plus why would you get kicked out? Yous just helping me out with some trousers.”

Valeria rolled her eyes, every bit of sympathy flown out the window. She scolded herself for how a change in scenery made her forget this guy’s little shit. “Absolutely not!”

“You helped Snake.”

“Snake dressed himself!”

“Well I ain’t ever worn girl pants so make an exception, will ya?”

Valeria let out a sigh.

“It would be a great loss to the world if they never got to see me in these pants.”

She could hear his shit-eating smirk.

“Fine! fine! Open up before I change my mind.”

At the click of the lock she slipped into the stall, her eyes were assaulted with Ace’s tattered heart boxers. She got a 360 view when he scurried to close the stall.

“Okay well, first of all, Your boxers are all bunched up how do you expect to pull anything up like that?” She kneeled down and aggressively pulled the pants down.

“Woah Woah Woah!” Ace held himself against the walls.

Valeria looked up at him, her eyes saying “what?” before her mouth did. “You want me to help you with the trousers or not?”

“Yeah yeah, I-” he gulped and looked everywhere except for Valeria. This is where every bit of mental strength Ace has ever had comes into play. Mind over Matter.

The brown-eyed girl patted Ace’s boxers and straightened them out. Valeria made a mental note to ring up Guinness world record for longest time smelling skunk spray without passing out. She hurriedly pulled up the pants, making sure to tuck in the boxers.

She got up, “See? Now they’ve made it up to your butt.” Valeria was going to finish the job but Ace turned to face the corner before she could.

“Gimme a second.”

“I- uh- alright?”

She heard as he took a deep breath in and out. She respected his breathing exercises but didn’t want to waste any extra time in there. She grabbed the pants by the belt loops and pulled up. Ace made a strange sound at the sudden pull but now the pants were on.

He zipped himself up and the second he finished Valeria hurried out the stall.

She looked him up and down, “You look hella fly.”

He inspected himself in the stall mirror, “It’s like these pants were made for me.” “Can’t argue with you on that one. Check yourself out on the big mirror.”

Ace did just that, Valeria was relieved it fit him like a glove, she wouldn’t have the guts to put it back in a rack after he wore it.

“You look like a million bucks.” “Yesss! Themsss ssome nice-nice pantsss, Ace!”

Both Ace and Valeria turned to find Snake holding an array of gold jewelry.

“Told ya’.” Ace smirked.

“Yeah, you were right. So Snake, what do you think about these pants? They’d look so good with a creme turtleneck!” “Oh, Yesss! With some rings and a necklace!” “You’re speaking my language!” Valeria hopped in place and shook her little fists in excitement.

These two girls were gonna be the death of him…


	11. Chapter 11

“One… two… three… four… five! Five little chicks okay we’re all here!” 

Valeria stood in front of the arcade. Pretzel in hand. It was about to be three and she knew that if she didn’t round these guys up and get out of here it’ll get filled with kids sporting her same uniform. 

“Alright so, Follow the leader! We’re headed to Denny’s boys!” 

“Who made her in charge?” Ace muttered to Snake but before he could reply Valeria butted in. “This bad boy did.” She pulled the credit card out of her sock, the lighting making it glimmer like the key it was. To most people, the card would simply represent an easy way to make financial transactions, but to these boys, that piece of plastic was a taste of normalcy. The only thing between them and that is the brown hand holding it. 

‘If we keep the owner of the key we’d have access to the key indefinitely,’ was Arturo’s argument, albeit in simpler terms.

Ace knew these boys like the back of his hand.

He could see how Arturo was already comfortable on her lap, how Snake was already planning a mall heist with her, and how Billy was itching to give her a piggyback ride.

Grubber is the only guy of intelligence in the gang, apart from Ace of course; while Ace does enjoy the eye candy he doesn’t let temptation blind him. 

‘God, have these guys never seen curves before?!’

“Ace, what would you like?” Valeria batted her eyelashes at him, he couldn’t help but take a peek at the way her chest rested on the table, leaning towards him. 

Part of him wanted to spit out, “You,” but he wasn’t that socially inept. “The uh- omelette looks good.” 

“Really? Took you more of a pancake typa guy.” 

He gulped. He was more of a pancake typa **** guy but he didn’t even look at the menu. Was he that readable?

He saw how Valeria chatted away with the rest of the gang. He felt like a recluse, or a really good detective, just analyzing everything from the sidelines. He poked at his omelette, eyeballing Billie’s stack of pancakes. If it were any other member he’d just up and take it but everyone knew not to come between Billy and his food. 

“Gotta take this call. Do you guys mind?” Valeria got up and pointed at her vibrating phone.

“No notsss at all!” “No! No!” “PBTFFFTHH!” 

The boys didn’t seem to get the message that she wanted to have some privacy and Snake, who was in the outside corner of the seat, didn’t move a muscle. 

She awkwardly took the call. 

“Hey, Mariah, what’s up?”

Valeria’s face paled, “Pop-Pop Quiz?! 80 Points?! What the fff-” she trailed off, eyeballing Arturo and remembering her manners. 

Valeria pushed Snake a few times, he got the message and got up. 

“Alright, Alright Mariah! Take a chill pill! I’ll go over right now- Bye! BYE!” Valeria whisper-yelled into her phone.

“Yous not the only nerd-o in your school I take it.” Ace twirled his fork around in the air. 

“I am NOT in the mood.”

“Well, at least you had fun playing hooky.” Ace smirked at her.

“Hookie?! It’s been a long day of playing idiot!” 

The whole gang gasped offendedly, Ace included. He curled his lip up and pointed at her.

“That doesn’t even make sense!”

Without skipping a beat Valeria replied, “YOU don’t make sense!” She slung her bookbag over her shoulder and started walking out, “Get a job!” she yelled before storming out. 

The gang looked at each other, Ace fuming in his seat, arms crossed and teeth grinding. “Well y’know, what! She ain’t even that pretty anyway!”

…

Please leave the tone after the beep, “Valeria! Perdóname!” Arturo cried into the street phone, his 10th attempt at reaching her being just as fruitless as all his others. “Ace es un estupido!” “I am a what?!” 

Arturo hung up, fear panging in his chest, he got a bit carried away. “I-I didn’t mean it boss I’m just tryna get her to come back!” 

“Well you’re gonna have to try just as hard to get back to our hangout since I’m such an estupido, c’mon boys.” Ace started walking away without even turning to look back, the rest of them knew that if they weren’t behind him they’ll regret it later, so all of them hesitantly followed behind. 

“Wess really leaving Lil-Lil Arturo?” Snake pondered.

“‘Course not.” Ace turned the corner and peeked sneakily. “Think. Where’s the little two-faced booger headin’ to if not with us?” 

The rest of the gang snickered as they saw Arturo panic, heading over to no doubt little miss Princess’s house. Ace will finally know where she lives.


End file.
